By Adewole Kehinde
Some unscrupulous individuals are not happy with the war against corruption that has taken place at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited since President Buhari appointed Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Since Mele Kyari resumed office, he has not hidden his desire to bequeath to Nigerians a company that not only serves the purpose for which it was founded but also aligns with international best practices.
Before I delve into the reasons for his appointment as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, let me touch on his biography.
Mele Kyari was born on January 8, 1965, in Maiduguri, Borno State. He attended Government Community Secondary School Biu in Borno State between 1977 and 1982. In 1987, he obtained his bachelor of science (BSc) in geology and earth science from the University of Maiduguri.
He is a geologist, a crude oil marketer, and the 19th Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Before this appointment, Kyari was the Group General Manager of, the Crude Oil Marketing Division of the NNPC and the Nigerian National Representative at the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since 2018.
After the retirement of the Late Maikanti Baru from the corporation on July 7, 2019, Kyari was appointed by the administration of President Buhari as the 19th GMD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. In 1991, he joined NNPC as a processing geophysicist with Integrated Data Services Limited. In 1991, he started his career with the Department of Geological Survey of Nigeria as a field geologist. He worked as an exploration geophysicist with the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) in 1998. In 2007, Kyari headed Production Sharing Contracts Management in the Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD). In 2014, he became the General Manager, of Crude Oil Stock Management, and in 2015, he was promoted to the post of Group General Manager, COMD. He is the focal person for the Open Government Initiative; the initiative helps the government track the buyer and sellers of crude oil. On May 13, 2018, he became the Nigerian National Representative at OPEC.
Kyari has a history of unionism and activism. He is popularly referred to as ‘Grand Chairman’ by colleagues, friends, and admirers alike because he was once the Group Chairman of NNPC PENGASSAN (Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria).
Kyari ensured the successful execution of the intelligent pigging of the West African Gas Pipeline project as part of regulatory compliance and flow assurance, which is instrumental to achieving the delivery of the Nigeria-Gas foundation volume of 133 million BTU and cumulatively more than 190 million BTU through the pipeline system this year.
Kyari has also ensured that the debts valued at over N80 billion and $45 million owed to the NNPC, through its subsidiary in charge of gas development and supply, the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), by gas off-takers, were recovered.
Kyari knew the NNPC needed a new vista and a break from its decadent past. He saw his appointment as an opportunity of a lifetime to give the NNPC a new direction in the way its operations and businesses are conducted and give Nigerians renewed hope.
Days after his inauguration, the reform-minded oil and gas industry technocrat unfolded an agenda for the NNPC’s rebirth. He called it Transparency, Accountability, and Performance Excellence (TAPE), a five-step strategic roadmap for NNPC’s attainment of efficiency and global excellence.
During the official unveiling of the TAPE agenda, Kyari said it was the only way to transform the NNPC and enhance its potential and capacity to compete with other national oil companies around the world.
Kyari told members of the NNPC’s management team to buckle up, shape up, ship in with the new direction, or ship out with the old ways of doing things.
For instance, Kyari secured about $3.15 billion in funding for NPDC’s OML 13, $876 million for OML 65, and $3.4 billion for OML 11.
Kyari has also achieved financial closure for ‘Project Eagle’ by raising $1 billion for the NPDC through a Forward Sale Agreement (FSA), while also negotiating a term sheet with AFREXIMBANK for the $1 billion funding for the Port Harcourt Refinery and Petrochemical Company (PHRC) rehabilitation project.
Kyari has also implemented various International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9, 15, and 16 across the NNPC Group to ensure regulatory compliance, as well as the Centralised Invoice Processing System, integration of systems, applications, and products to Remitta, SAP Funds Management, and issued conditions for the financial autonomy of NNPC SBUs.
NNPC’s operational processes were made transparent and accountable to the Nigerian people and the government. The new system operates along with well-defined operational processes benchmarked against established global best practices by world-class oil and gas companies;
Set the right operational cost structure to guarantee value addition towards N NPC’s sustained profitability and
Set achievable goals, priorities, and performance standards and criteria by developing suitable governance structures for its strategic business units and enforcing team spirit, work ethic, and collaboration with all key stakeholders to achieve set corporate goals.
Kyari’s visible footprints of achievements across all segments of Nigeria’s petroleum industry—upstream, downstream, gas, and power—as well as his interventions in other sectors to give Nigerians a new lease on life, are second to none.
Through this acquisition, NNPC Retail Limited will build on the existing success of OVH and operate model service outlets, leveraging OVH’s extensive asset base and commercial capabilities.
But by far one of the most impressive accomplishments of Kyari’s stewardship at NNPCL is the flagging off in November 2022 of the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi State, marking the commencement of efforts to commercially exploit oil in the northern part of Nigeria.
The Kolmani Oil Field, estimated to have a reserve of about one billion barrels of crude oil, OPL 809 and 810, lies in the Gongola Basin of the Upper Benue Trough, straddling Bauchi and Gombe States.
The oil blocks are owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) as a concessionaire, with New Nigeria Development Company Ltd., Africa Oilfield Movers Ltd., and SEEPCO as partners.
The well is expected to produce 50,000 barrels of oil per day during the first phase.
Equally noteworthy is the near completion of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline Project, which is currently at 70 percent. The AKK Gas Pipeline Project was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2020.
Commenting recently on work at over the 600-kilometer facility, Kyari said over $1.1 billion of the $2.5 billion earmarked for the project had been spent so far, with the entire money coming from NNPCL’s funds.
Apart from helping the government save over $300 million, the AKK project would also attract over $2 billion in FDI.
In addition to the strides outlined above, Kyari has also initiated the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.
Additionally, he has unveiled initiatives and regulations that have improved the company’s operations’ efficiency and openness.
One of these is the creation of a new trading subsidiary. Another is the creation of a new crude oil marketing division. A third is the implementation of a new performance management system, which improves accountability in the Nigerian oil and gas sector by publishing monthly financial and operational reports.
Adewole Kehinde is the publisher of Swift Reporters. He can be reached via 08166240846.
